Karni rushed toward the Dragon Clan Graveyard. It was time to cause some butterfly effects that should work for the betterment of the future.
With full speed, he needed about thirty minutes to reach the outskirts. There were hundreds of rich Dragon Clouds in the sky. He jumped up into them with the help of a weak Flight into the River variant and exploded with Sound and Spiritual Power, but also with Relaxing Aura.
The clouds close to him all followed. All of them. He was correct. It was good he didn't try this in front of Hua Jingxiao. The ability of his bloodline was a bit too scary. It could even apply to foreign energy.
Though the bloodline still rejected it. For now, he sat down with the clouds around him, and for once, didn't send them to Hope. No, he used up their energy. The Sound circulated in odd ways, and Karni borrowed their energy to bring forth an effect similar to Golden Insight, though through a much lesser effect. It was barely a percent of its usual power.
He focused on Gu Yue. Where would she be? Where would she come from. He needed to find out.
He did not see a vision. He did not hear a Sound, but the clouds, as if understanding his thoughts turned to flow in a direction. Relaxing Aura really was wondrous when combined with his Sound. It was like he communicated with the Time, Space and Lightning elements within the clouds.
Good. He immediately rushed in the direction, bringing the clouds with him so they could guide him. After another ten minutes, the clouds stopped at a spot and tried going out of the Dragon Clan Graveyard. Still showing a direction, but Karni felt that any effect of future sight was gone from them. Now they just pointed to where Gu Yue was.
Karni stopped and recalled the clouds. She would come from that direction after sensing the energy Tang Wulin triggered. It was good enough for Karni to wait here.
He sat down in a meditative pose and with the help of Relaxing Aure, the clouds easily surrounded him. He sent them to Hope. After all of them were called in and Hope started absorbing the first batch, Karni jumped up to the clouds in the sky and befriended them as well.
Now to wait and cultivate Hope.
… … …
Karni was worried. Ten minutes and ten clouds later—clouds which had all the elements—yet there was still no visible change on Hope. She was just as dormant, but the energy within her had now become quite terrifying. Even Hopper was keeping away.
How much more energy would she need? Karni had been here for ten minutes already, and the effects were at least ten times as powerful as usually. However, he couldn't find out.
He felt a hostile energy look over him. Oh. So, she came. Time to do this.
He opened his eyes, and sure enough, he saw Gu Yue… in the air, flying.
"Oh? Gu Yue? Hi."
She looked at him with hostility but also bitterness. "Val Karni… why did you have to be here? You don't know what I'll have to do now."
"Kill me? Because you shouldn't be here? Oh mighty Silver Dragon Queen."
Karni did a little bow, though clearly a tad sarcastic. Gu Yue visibly paused. Genuine shock appearing on her face. Then she vanished and reappeared, holding Karni's neck. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
Karni coughed, immediately feeling a foreign energy constrain him. Terrifying. Gu Yue was far more powerful than she ever let on. "For starters, I've known who you are since we first met."
"What?!" She practically screamed, tightening Karni's throat, before letting go and regaining clarity. "Since… the beginning? How?"
Karni didn't answer. "And also, Tang Wulin is in the middle of the Graveyard, likely communicating with the Dragon God's soul as we speak."
"You… who exactly are you? Are you a reincarnated god?"
Karni shook his head, then stretched as the foreign energy left him. "I'm no god, unfortunately. Though that is the eventual goal. I am reincarnated though. I think."
Gu Yue was caught off guard by Karni. Completely off guard. He was so nonchalant about it all. "You think?"
"I'm not from the Douluo Planet. I don't exactly know how I got here, as I'm from a completely different time and space, but I will say that I know basically all of the future. And the past. Bits and pieces I remember at least."
Gu Yue, the Silver Dragon Queen, half of the Dragon God, who was a Supreme Godking level existence, was completely silent. She was thousands of years old, but she could not see through this man… or he was completely honest, and this was not a lie.
Karni sat down and took out food. "You hungry?"
Gu Yue grabbed the food absentmindedly and started eating. "Why are you telling me this?" She was not scared of Karni. She knew she could kill him as she wished—the one time where there wouldn't even be any consequences if she did. And he knew that as well, so she might as well listen to him.
"Because I need your complete trust if I want to have the smallest chance of changing the future." That was why Karni was here. He believed that the voice warned him for a reason, and of all the people that would have influence on the future, Gu Yue was perhaps the biggest one behind Tang Wulin. He needed, if not cooperation, at least her trust.
"I know of your plan. Wiping out all of humanity or at least resetting it. Humanity has progressed too much. And you, as the leader of the Soul Beasts, don't really have a choice in this."
Gu Yue's eyes changed. Purple slits. Killing intent that made Karni feel suffocated. "How did you find out?"
"Like I said." Karni struggled to speak. "I know the future. I've always known. The only future I do not know is my own and Siduo's. I will not stop your plans. I don't believe I can even if I want to. And I can promise on my Martial Souls that I won't tell anyone that would be capable of stopping you."
The pressure intensified.
"What's in it for you?"
"Getting home. Living a long life. To see Siduo actually meet my parents before we marry." Karni blushed a little. "And you guys are my friends. And while technically it all turns out okay… it also doesn't."
Gu Yue was speechless yet again. She always had trouble understanding Karni, but somehow, while she understood less, it felt like she understood him better.
"You and I both know that the only way I can reach my family again is through godhood—if you believe what I say about me coming from another world that is—and then going out into the endless space and search for my planet. But there is also this little problem, that I'm pretty sure I would also need to travel through time. If I want to have any chance at succeeding, I need everyone alive by the end of this, and I need everyone alive in this timeline."
"Are you saying I die?" She increased the pressure further
Karni nodded. "So does… Wulin." Karni started to struggle somewhat. He had to circulate his bloodline to speak. "But neither of you die truly…" He looked at his nose. It was bleeding, on top of all that pressure. But this was good. Things have started changing.
"Both of you sacrifice yourself." He spit out blood. A ton of it. Gu Yue was looking at him confused at first, before realising the implications. He shouldn't be saying this. Her pressure lessened somewhat but was still there.
But then she processed his words. Why would she sacrifice herself?
Karni answered her silent question. "You do it for love. As for me, I'll be fine. It's just a bit of a problem when I'm mentioning things I shouldn't."
"Give me proof."
"Other than me being hurt by just saying things?"
Gu Yue was reluctant but nodded. She was already starting to believe him, but there was one more thing she needed.
Karni thought a bit. That might work, though it also might not. "How about this. I cannot give you any proof now. Not directly. Not something that could convince you. I will tell you only this. Wulin will be here for three years. Why? I will not tell you; you will find out eventually on your own. But when he returns… you will have an unusual amount of trust of him."
That was what Karni remembered. Their relationship bloomed yet got complicated after Wulin returned.
"Why would that convince me?"
"Because…" Karni took a big breath. "Because it is connected to your very bloodline. It will come from inside."
"He will do something here that will make the Dragon Bloodline appreciate him?" Gu Yue was guessing. "… Fine. I'll play along and wait." Gu Yue released all the pressure on Karni.
Karni nodded, breathing freely again. "I know you won't change your plans now, I only ask that in the future, if what I say becomes true, you think about things and talk to me a bit. I won't try to change your mind, there will be a point where I believe you yourself will change it somewhat."
"The thing that will lead to me sacrificing myself."
Karni nodded again. "And when it comes to that, I hope I can prevent that. It is also why I don't want to interfere too much. Certain things have to happen. I understand that now. It's why I couldn't beat Long Yue. You and Wulin need to grow in a certain way."
Gu Yue did not like how that sounded. It was like Karni was grooming them to be a certain way.
Karni saw through her again. The Silver Dragon Queen was not good at hiding her feelings. "Don't think of it that way. I can't really change things too much. You saw that I literally bleed whenever I just give you an alternative aspect to think about." Karni sighed.
Gu Yue sighed back. "I would have thought as I do now, but just much later. That's what you're saying?"
Karni nodded.
"Why do you think I won't kill Wulin? If he will give me that weird sense of trust."
Karni looked at her and smiled. "Because it's an intriguing mystery. And you believe your own judgments."
"Haaaa." Gu Yue sighed. "Fine. I'll play along, I'll play along. Do not approach my subordinates though. They're not as reasonable as I. Especially when I don't have control over them yet."
"Says the one trying to go the genocide route."
Gu Yue chuckled at that. How did Karni say that in such a joking manner? "Mm. Let me show you a little sign of friendship then, a way to show I will hold myself true to the promise." She waved her hand and brought all of the clouds as far as the eye could see to him. "Cultivate for a while more. There's only so much time left."
Karni nodded. And closed his eyes. "Oh, wait. The girl Wulin is with. It's Yun'er. We were unable to choose who we will be partnered with. So, there is no need to be jealous."
"You…" Gu Yue sighed but nodded. "Thank you. I would have probably misunderstood. I'm not really good with all these… feelings."
"Sure, sure. Now go see your darling already."
Gu Yue snickered and departed, leaving Karni alone, surrounded by hundreds of clouds gathered close around him. The energy was thick and powerful. He started absorbing it all.
It was good that he didn't say too much. He was thinking of telling her Wulin would end up being the Nature's Child, but that was info to give at a later date. She liked Wulin now, but she only truly fell for him at the Shrek Love Festival. Right now, she might actually kill him if he revealed this. No. What he needed now was bait. Interest. Later on, he could use Wulin's identity to prevent any ideas of killing. Even Soul Beasts could not afford for the Child of Nature to die. Wulin needed to capture her heart before that.
Speaking of nature, the nature in the clouds was really rich. Full of draconic vitality.
He sent the energy to Hope, while he thought about what he just revealed. She was the second person now to know of his true origin. But he felt it was good that he said that. It helped her think of him differently.
He did not reveal that the people from here were from books though. That would add a whole different layer of confusion. And his theory of realities leaking through as inspiration or something was just that. A theory. Until he was sure, it was better to just keep that between himself and Siduo.
Hopefully he could affect some things in the future with greater ease now. He walked a different path to Gu Yue and Wulin, but it was still parallel to theirs at the end of the day.
His mind content, he fully focused on cultivation of Hope and the changes the thick energy was bringing. Or rather the lack of changes. She was still just absorbing this enormous energy. If her energy was 1 just before Gu Yue arrived, it was now already at 100 just by passively being in the surroundings of clouds. And it was growing faster now that Karni started focusing on the clouds Gu Yue gathered around him.
In a matter of a minute, the energy grew twice as strong. Another minute passed and yet more energy entered Hope. But there were still no changes.
Damn it all. Did the heavens despise the All-Seeing Rattlesnakes? Just how much change was needed for her to breakthrough? What was up with the species exactly? What would happen if they broke through to the Ten Thousand level?
Such limits didn't even exist on the Thunderclap Nether Vines and Mercury Cyclone Flowers. Those were limited by the heavens to leave only up to Fifty Thousand Years or at most die just before reaching the Hundred Thousand mark. Was it maybe that the species was just too weak?
No, that was not possible either. Weak species were easier to mutate. If they were weak, the All-Seeing Rattlesnake would mutate easily, because the energy of dragons was much purer than the species. But that was clearly not what was happening right now.
The All-Seeing Rattlesnake was clearly special. It might be weak in terms of powers, but its powers were unique and flexible. Golden Insight allowed him to tap into the future, the only way that would be is if All-Seeing Rattlesnake could do so as well. Vision Bestowal allowed for a connection between people, influencing their perception of the world. And Sound… Sound was arguably the most yet the least special at the same time.
He still remembered when he first got the skill. He couldn't really do much. How he controlled this Sound was based solely on Karni alone. A Sound Element Martial Soul would never actually get such a skill of general control, because usually, the Martial Soul offered that on its own. Yet even now, such a skill was still the key to his arsenal.
His Martial Soul was always connected to Sound, he just didn't know it at the start. Even Shifting itself was a manipulation of Sound, and that skill belonged to Hop.
So, what would happen to the All-Seeing Rattlesnake, when it broke through the Ten Thousand Level? Why was the species so limited?
The energy was now nearing a hundredfold stronger than what it was minutes before. Compared to the beginning it was almost 1 to 10000 of a difference. Having the clouds here was terrifyingly efficient.
And finally, a visible change.
The scales darkened, and between, the light seeped out. More than that, Hope grew in size. Twice the size, three times the size, before suddenly shrinking.
She shrank to the size of a simple arm but became incredibly long. Just now, she was as thick as an arm, but about 20 metres long. She reminded Karni of a giant python.
But then she grew again, more energy sucked in. She herself was sucking in the energy that Karni hadn't even yet sent her way. The greedy little snake… that quickly became big again. It only took another two minutes before her head became as big as Karni.
And yet another change. She shrank again. Far smaller than before. It was like Hope was refining herself. All of that energy coagulating inside her, purifying the body.
But she was shrinking more than Karni expected. With each transformation, she was thinner, yet longer. By now, she was only as thick as Karni's pinky finger, yet her length was terrifying. Fifty metres long! The thinnest, longest snake Karni had ever seen!
He felt his rings transform. Purple changed to black, but then his heart felt a deep stab.
Shit. This was no ordinary Black Spirit Soul. Her transformation was proof of that!
He struggled. He circulated his Bloodline. He needed to calm down his body. He was experiencing backlash. Not a Spiritual one, but his strength of the body was lacking. Even after all the growing he did with the Panda, it was not developed enough to keep the strength of seven Black Soul Rings inside it. Of course it wasn't, he couldn't even wield a Greatsword freely as he was now.
Shit, shit, shit.
Karni was about to explode. He needed to refine the energy as fast as possible. He needed to force his body to become strong, even if it would injure him. Better that than dying!
He felt a palm on the back of his body. A cooling hand. Was it Gu Yue?
"This is my final gift. As thanks. Oh, and don't tell any of this to Na'er, okay?"
Karni nodded with difficulty. Of course, if he knew about Gu Yue, he knew about Na'er. Gu Yue easily deduced that. "That matter is between you two… and thanks."
She poured in more energy. Stabilised his body, ordering the elements to refine his muscles and his strength so he could take in the energy.
Like Karni thought, this forceful way of refinement was not exactly good on his body, but it was necessary right now. He'd restabilise himself later.
He felt the raging energy calm, and his body started fully accepting the power of three Black Soul Rings.
His breathing somewhat stabilised, and the palm behind him left. He no longer felt Gu Yue's presence.
The black rings slowly lost the purple hue, and his Bo Staff appeared in his hands.
Four rings spun around it. Black, Black, Black, Black.
He breathed in deeply. He succeeded. Now for the rest of the energies. He could gain at least another 2000 years on Hope. It should also help stabilise the evolution.
The thin snake absorbed the final bits of energy, and to Karni's surprise, started growing again. The 2000 additional years of cultivation made it just a bit thicker, and just a bit longer. She was now as thick as two fingers instead of one.
It was barely noticeable with how long she was, but it was something.
A pitch black, beautiful snake, with golden liquid running between the scales. Yet something still confused him. Her eyes were still closed.
He approached the snake in his mind and pet her. It slithered softly, intelligence showing. "Master, I see you now." The snake slithered, then opened her eyes.
Karni froze. He barely remembered what she said. Those eyes. Completely gold. No detail on them. No iris, no pupils, just gold. Ever flowing gold as deep as the ocean.
The Spiritual Sea vanished. The world vanished, and in its place was only the colour of gold.
Gold that slowly turned into shapes. And shapes that turned into details. And details into the world. A different golden world.
Karni could only see it, but he did not feel himself. It was like he was an omnipotent viewer.
The gold moved. A shape of Wulin. He was burying Dragon Bones.
The world changed. The Sea God's Lake. Wulin's confession to Gu Yue.
Gu Yue leaving. Then a mission to a faraway island. The Demon Island of harsh training. Then suddenly, a seaside academy, and a young Wulin. Then, a world of ice.
The scenes were detailed, and they went through with incredible speed. Karni was absorbing all the information at once. But it also felt slow. Like he was experiencing the history of the entire world all at the same time. After all of it appeared once, it vanished and started again. This time it made more sense.
A hardworking boy. Entrance to a seaside academy. Growth. Competition. Entrance to Shrek. The things Wulin experienced, but without Karni present in it.
Then it continued further ahead. This place, the graveyard again, and the confession and the island… Then the destruction of Shrek. Wulin winning the great tournament of the federation. The Battle of the Five Gods. Prevention of war. Rebuilding of Shrek. A festival for the spouse. The dignity of Shrek fully restored. Incomplete revenge. A war. A break. Another war. The Demon Empress. The invasion of a foreign God of Abyss. A seal of ice.
He saw it all. Those were just the important moments. From beginning to the end, it was now forever etched into his brain.
The gold disappeared and Karni was back. Not even a second passed and he saw it all. The history of this time.
"Master," Hope spoke. "This is how it was supposed to be. But you are changing some things."
Hm. That was the plan. "Good. Hope. You've grown well. You are very powerful."
"I feel powerful, Master. Like a whole new world opened. But I cannot see the future you are creating, some things are greyed out already. Only you can help me see your future."
Karni nodded. "We'll take a day and discuss some things. What about the visions I had so far. Are you aware of those?"
The snake shook her head.
Interesting. So not even the one that helped bring them forth could see them. But Yun Ming felt them before. It seemed that he needed to connect to the person directly.
"I will show them to you from now on. I think, with how you grew, we can both benefit greatly."
The snake slithered happily, nodding along.
"Now how about you introduce yourself to the other two." Karni pointed. They were waiting.
She went to Hopper first. "Big brother. It's nice to finally greet you."
"B-Big brother?" The crow's peak lay open. He was utterly shocked.
Then Hope slithered to Lily. She bowed slightly, but it was clear she was confused as to how to address Lily.
Lily walked over and hugged the snake. "You can call me Big Sister. Welcome to the world of intelligence."
Karni watched happily and let the three of them bond. Meanwhile, he directed his attention outward. The sky was rippling. Wulin was likely still in the midst of his metamorphosis.
He reached out with Spiritual Power toward the Dragon Pearl, but before he made contact, he was pleasantly surprised. His Spiritual Power grew by leaps and bounds! If after breaking through Spirit Abyss Realm, one was at 5000 points of Spiritual Power, Karni was around 8000 right now. It was an incredible jump.
But it didn't matter. He had to go. He had to get home. He poured his Spiritual Power into the Dragon Pearl and looked toward Wulin one final time. "See you in three years."